


Phoenix Feathers

by UltimateGamer101



Series: UG101's Undertale One-Shots [3]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe- Birdtale, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Minor Philosophy, Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide Attempt, Trigger Warning Everyone
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-19
Updated: 2017-02-19
Packaged: 2018-09-25 16:46:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9830441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UltimateGamer101/pseuds/UltimateGamer101
Summary: Burning with life, the phoenix is reborn from the ashes of its demise. The feathers of a phoenix are rumored to possess the magical ability of bringing the recently fallen back to life.You are falling. Can you be caught?





	

_"You can touch the top of the world if you try,_  
_Just climb to the roof and reach for the sky._  
_But falling is certain if you dare to fly-_  
_You don't yet have wings, and would surely die..."_

**_____________________**

Taking a deep breath, you gazed upon the world around you, surrounded by the open air on all sides but down.

To your left, you could make out the crests of snowy peaks on the horizon, belonging to a mountain range with the reputation of being cursed.

Before you, a sheer drop was waiting, wind whistling softly in your ears from the updraft it formed.

To your right, the artificial neon lights of a distant city twinkled like landlocked stars in the night, too distant to change your mind from what you had decided.

Below your feet, familiar cold steel girders held your weight without any issue, the apex of the bridge reached for the last time.

And above you... an endless sea of stars, shining bright against the contrasting darkness that consumed the world...

Turning around, you kept your gaze to the stars, pulling your cold hands from the pockets of your jacket. You wanted your last sight in this world to be that of the untouchable sky, the endless expanse that man would never fully understand, so you turned your back upon the waiting drop and gazed at the stars.

...several minutes passed. Why hadn't you fallen yet? What was it that kept your feet firmly in place, that kept you from finally leaving this cold, lonely, ruthless existence? Was it your family, was it your friends? What was it?

You didn't know.

It wasn't your family- they hadn't known you for years, hadn't even reached out to speak with you. It wasn't your friends- they had all left you behind as they chased opportunities like butterflies in the spring, and hadn't thought of you since. You were nothing to them, simply because you were different. What was a nothing like you doing, trying to be a something?

"Nothing cannot be something, as something cannot be nothing. Nothing is the absence of everything, including itself. Nothing is a paradox, because by being nothing, it is being something. What is nothing? I am nothing."

With a weak chuckle, you continued to regard the stars above you, observing their unreachable beauty. One hand- pale blue from the cold- reached towards the sky, and you curved your blue lips into a sad smile. The light reflected off of your skin, making it appear far brighter against the darkness of the night, making you feel almost as though you were a star yourself.

"The brightest fire burns the quickest, until the darkness of death approaches. A simple breeze is all it takes to save or destroy those dying embers, breathing life into that which would perish, or snuffing out that which would live. Stars are the brightest fires in existence, yet surrounded by the coldest of cold shadows that is space, they live on for millions of years, defying this simple rule. I have burned bright, yet I am no star. The lonely breeze snuffs me out this dark night..."

Taking a deep breath, you lower your arm, and take in the sight of the unobstructed sky once more. It is endless, you know, yet still you tried to see it all before finally closing your eyes. This is it. This is how it ends. This is... your farewell.

Slipping your cold hands back into your pockets, you took another deep breath, and leaned backwards off the edge.

...

The sky was lovely, dark and deep, and you had no promises to keep. It was time for you to go to sleep.

...

Yet, despite the cold wind howling in your ears, screaming your death at your face...

...

You weren't falling anymore.

Opening your eyes, you met the gaze of another being, and associated the warmth seeping into your cold, cold body as originating from them. Their pale skull glowed in the moonlight like white-hot steel, and their burning eyelights shone like stars in the endless darkness of their sockets. Over their shoulder, you could see deep, blue-black, feathered wings beating the open air, keeping their bearer and yourself safely aloft.

As you stared at your would-be savior, and they stared at you, the cold silence was broken by the singular question that remained in your mind.

"...Why?"

Your voice cracked. The subtle shaking of your limbs did not go unnoticed by the winged skeleton that had caught you, and you found yourself held against their chest, warmth seeping into your cold body from their magic-heated bones.

"i saw you here several weeks ago. back then, you climbed the bridge and stared at the drop below, as though you were gazing at an old friend you hadn't seen for years. but, there was still the light of hope in your eyes, and you climbed down and left. i saw you about two weeks later, and your hope was fading. again the next week, the light was dim, but still there. then, tonight, as you stared at the stars, the light in your eyes faded away... hope, gone. and all i can think is, what could make a human want to fall down? after turning down death many times before, what could make someone with a soul like yours want to accept it? where did your hope go? why did it leave?"

Closing your eyes, you didn't fight the firm grip he had upon you, the desire to die replaced by a familiar apathy. Still, you wanted to explain, as a repayment for the being who cared enough to stop a stranger's death.

So, you did. You told him how the people you knew had left you behind, through death and life alike. You told him about the darkness you saw every day, the hate and fear that festered within people like old wounds. You told him of the dark acts you had seen, and the dark acts that you yourself had committed. You told him how the brightest light was visible in the darkness, and that because you could see no light, you believed that you were the darkness.

You told him that you wanted to return the light by erasing the darkness...

He listened through it all, and once you were done, remained silent for some time. Your dull gaze noticed the moment he landed on an empty street, and the way he carried you towards a house with dozens of Christmas lights strung up on it despite it being out of season. The cold nighttime air was replaced by the warmth of the indoors, and it was when the door shut that he finally spoke.

"have you ever thought... that because all you can see is darkness... that maybe you are part of the light?"

You blinked, apathy sliding away from your gaze like a chunk of ice from a glacier wall as you met the eyelights of the winged skeleton.

"light and darkness are opposites, constantly sharing the same existence. without an opposite to compare with, light or darkness wouldn't be acknowledged at all, out of sheer inability to acknowledge it. thus, if there is only darkness in one area, there will always be light in another. if you were darkness, wouldn't you only be able to see the light?"

He set you down on a faded green couch, and you didn't resist as he removed your shoes and jacket. It made sense, it really did... and you wanted to believe it... but part of you still felt that you didn't deserve to live. So, as he unfolded a blanket for use, you answered his question with a resigned tone to your voice.

"There are two possible conclusions for this scenario. One, I am indeed light, viewing the darkness around me. Two, the light is so far out of reach that I cannot behold it any longer. The burning end of a cigarette is visible to the naked eye up to five miles away in total darkness, but much farther than that, and there is nothing. I do not burn anymore in this cold world. I cannot be a burning light without warmth."

A shiver wracked through your body as you finished speaking, and after taking in your words, the skeleton sat down next to you and tucked the blanket around you. Over the blanket, one of his feathered wings wrapped around your blanketed form, as a bony hand rubbed soothing circles on your back. It felt warm... You leaned against his warm body, and listened to his response.

"the laws of thermodynamics dictate that heat moves to places with less of itself. if you don't burn, then the heat will eventually make its way to you. it just takes time, and a heat source. here, you've got both. let me share my heat with you, so you can burn bright again... nobody's soul deserves to die like this."

...You couldn't find an error to his argument. His logic- logic being the only thing that appealed to you compared to the weighted emotions of depression- was sound.

"Alright. I can wait a little longer. My name is _____. What's yours?"

You saw his relieved grin, and felt a small smile of your own form as he answered in a happy tone.

"sans. sans the skeleton. nice to meet ya, _____."

**Author's Note:**

> Just wait a little longer, y'all. It will always get better after it gets worse. Always.


End file.
